intrinsic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent
-
anatomy situated within or peculiar to a part
intrinsic muscles
Related Words
See essential.
Other Word Forms
- intrinsically adverb
Etymology
Origin of intrinsic
First recorded in 1480–90; Middle English intrinsique “inner,” from Old French intrinseque “internal, inner,” from Late Latin intrinsecus “inward” (adjective), from Latin intrinsecus “on the inside, inwards” (adverb), equivalent to intrin- (from int(e)r-, as in interior + -im, an old accusative ending used as an adverb suffix + secus “beside,” derivative of sequī “to follow”)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The economic consequences are not an accidental byproduct of this conflict, they are an intrinsic aspect of the war.
From BBC
Berkshire has had a longstanding policy of share repurchases, but only if the estimated “intrinsic value” of the shares crossed a certain undisclosed threshold.
From MarketWatch
The company had over $300 billion in cash last year and stated it can repurchase shares “at any time we believe the repurchase price is below our intrinsic value.”
Each contract covered a block of 100 shares and was worth something, called the premium, composed of time value, intrinsic value and implied volatility.
But a plane is different in that its structure is intrinsic to the machine.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.